Ratna writes

After meditating on Marina for quite a while this morning, I read a selection in The Power of Now . Over breakfast, I contacted a future Gyaan Ghar intern to discuss what her role will be during the students' summer vacation. I look forward to the contributions Raina will be able to make in improving the students' confidence in speaking English. Before leaving the house, I laid out the cosmetics I would need to get my sister and her girlies dolled up tonight! At school, I attempted to organize Latin Convention forms for students (though I'm usually not even able to handle my own). This ended in a wrestling match with the copy machine, which I'm sad to say I lost. This afternoon was host to an event I'm been looking forward to for a long time -- a ballet class taught by Miss Aimee! I of course can't dance at all, but being in the room with Aimee teaching (and dancing!) was such an experience. I've always marveled at her talent, but it was evide...

The skies mourn Marina in the morning. We go about our business, dressed in black v-necks, organizing documents. We love our lunch spent reflecting on this year and predicting that the next one could be lonely . On the bus, we talk about trees and children. I rest my swollen eyes now, before packing for my next escape.

She was one of my best friends and I never met her. I can’t tell you how many times I have read and reread her poem “ Bygones ” -- my favorite piece of written work in the world, by far. Type in “Marina Keegan” for a burst of inspiration any time of day, any day of the week, no matter what. I had told all my friends about her, too. This poem , right? I just happened to be watching it five minutes before I got the news. Bowled over by her words all over again, I posted a link to it at the end of my blog post earlier today, quoted from it for my post’s title (I quote Marina often), and hit “publish” when a friend sent me the article. “Marina Keegan ’12, a prolific writer, actress and activist, died Saturday afternoon in a car accident near Dennis, Mass. She was 22.” Are people like Marina even allowed to die? Are people who live the way Marina did even allowed to die? She lived only to be the purest and the happiest she could be in this world. She savored every moment. She wro...

I had a dream the other night that I was checking my email. That dream sucks. And woke to woes of seniors writing love songs for tomorrow and Tomorrow and the melodies That flirt us forward, whispering the next thing and the next thing and  – so we beat on birds flocking south until we circle round and realize maybe maybe all that running wasn’t worth it. Maybe we should build a cabin. Or teach high school. Or use our hands. My palms are smooth as words – Weak with fashion and double spaces. I want everyone else’s club and job and class The grass I sleep in always browner than Than that around erasing dreams To sit and breathe because you Only bank for two years then it's over And twenty two is nothing new It’s just another chance to build For when we’re twenty three And twenty four And time begins to sell for more than Any 9 a.m. to never. We’re not stuck. That's the thing, we're not stuck. We owe no o...

My reading on the power of listening today meshed perfectly with the morning's coffee with Woojin, where he revealed to me his discovery that "TIME IS THE MOST PRECIOUS THING A PERSON CAN GIVE TO ANOTHER." I was happy to have time with the other half of my syzygy today, carrying out Chang orders and playing Certamen. In the morning, I allowed Woojin some quietude as the photogenic Jenny and I worked in the beautiful gazebo outside. After hours of vocabulary work with PSang, I settled in to play against Varlet #0, with Woojin botch--er--reading the questions. The real fun came, however, when Woojin asked me to read history and literature questions to him, for him to compete against no one to answer them. Sometimes, we just miss Certamen too much. After this tomfoolery, I sat down to copy to my computer the Ingrid Michaelson albums Mr. Chang had brought in for me, to which I attempted to choreograph a dance upon returning home. After an abbreviate...

I started today with something I've been meaning to do for a long time -- I learned the proper breathing patterns for Surya Namaskara . (In the process, I also discovered that I've been doing the yoga positions wrong.) Mama and I tidied the basement before I met with Michael for lunch. We spent our three hours pondering his future, catching up on the latest in the Latin world, and discussing my future as a coxswain for Harvard Crew. Mike also told me about the process of being selected for, preparing for, and delivering the Latin address at Harvard's graduation ceremony this year. I felt like a bad friend when I had to admit that I hadn't watched the entire oration, and viewed the video when I returned home. I have included it below in an effort to ease my guilt. Next, I enjoyed a one-hour workout so tiring that it made me dizzy! (But it felt so good . . . ) Mama and I were preparing to attend a baby shower when we realized that we had gotten the date ...

I did some minimal yoga this morning before catching up with my g-parents (Nani, Nanaji, Dadi). Dadi and I discussed our plans for Gyaan Ghar during the students' month of holidays, and I spent some time after our call contacting potential volunteers who would be interested in working with our students during this time. Next, I caught up on a bunch of minute tasks -- making a massage appointment for Mama and making an optometrist appointment for Priya and making cell service changes for the three of us.  Mama and I then worked on reorganizing the wires around our TV cabinet -- this task led to some minor mechanical machoism on my part, as I was proud to have unplugged and rewired our wireless router. But barely! The three of us later sat down with my laptop for a mini shopping spree on Amazon. Eight assorted iPhone cases should be in the mail any time now! I meditated for an hour after lunch, before working out in the basement. We washed up and went out to do some er...

I started today with ten minutes of meditation and two pages of Tolle. This picture represents the rest of my morning: Decked out in Indian dress, my siblings and I hit old town Vienna for the Viva! Vienna! fair. Funnel cakes, trampolines, and lots of loving ensued. We were joined by Jenny K. for lunch (with a scarcity of sitting options) before our brother had to depart. As we waited for Iman's family, my talented little sis and I had a beautiful heart-to-heart in the grass. Soaked in sweat, I returned home expecting to be incapacitated for the rest of the day. This prediction seemed to be coming true until Priya convinced me to go outside with her for a jog. A three-hour workout followed. String is the new muscle. After an hour and a half of cardio, we returned to the basement for push-ups, sit-ups, planks, leg lifts, splits, and lots of stretching (not to mention manly opportunities for Gill Junior to show off). Everything is impermanent, but today ha...

Today has made me breathless! I started the morning with a conversation with Ms. Noojin that was so good I didn't want to leave her office! I eventually had to depart, though, and headed back to B-235 to start grading the exams taken by the Latin II Honors class. Doing this task actually filled me with glee -- the students performed so well on such a challenging assessment! Yet another testament to Mr. Chang's magic. After the morning exam block, I got to work training Patrick intensely for this year's state Certamen tryouts. Although many parts of my day were spectacular, this was my favorite. I AM IN LOVE WITH GRAMMAR. It's not even funny how happy it made me to flip through the Compendium and drill this kid on the most obscure language concepts. I love words. I love Latin. I love grammar. After 4 hours of our studying (!), Mr. Chang read questions for Patrick and me to play against one another and work on speed. This got me in my edgy Certamen mode, which ...

This day has historically been my happiest in high school -- the day of the FINAL LATIN EXAM! It was interesting to be proctoring the exam today instead of taking it, and surprising to see that this year's students ask far fewer questions than I used to! After three hours of observing Chang-Lamont antics and making the rounds were up, I retreated to the Language Hallway (yes, this location is a proper noun) to start grading the tests! I spent most of the school day doing this, incorporating intermittent "socializing" with victims such as KAndino, Victoria "Ginge" Flagg, and Mr. Grissom. At the end of the day, Magister Chang returned from a meeting to present to me the most thoughtful gift of two awesome books -- On the Outside Looking Indian and Peter Bogdanovich's Movie of the Week -- and a super special digital device... That's right -- Mr. Chang and I are now USB TWINS!! He got me a handy-dandy flash drive to match his sine qua non ...

Long and lovely day. Wrote key for Latin II practice exam and graded Latin IV final projects. Bagged candy between Reading Day questions about Latin. Framed certificates between candy and more questions about Latin. Edited resume under auspices of Howard Chang. Met with incoming eighth grader about taking summer Latin. Attended Alumni Back-to-School Night! Prepared piece with Mama Maddox and rest of musical gang. Caught up with Mr. Fred and other treehuggers. Practiced posture with Aimee.  Had lesson undermined by Kenneson. Drove home with JennPenn and answered student's Latin questions in car. Good day. Sensory overload. Good night.

I did not miss productivity for long this morning! Soon after waking, I re-read the section in The Power of Now that basically backs up Vipassana . I then headed to school where, after skipping around his office with excitement that I was well again, Mr. Chang started listing projects for me to work on for the rest of my internship. Among bagging candy, framing certificates, and taking screen shots were scattered more exciting tasks like designing a flier advertising Castra Latina! My cold-afflicted eyes watered only minimally today, and I was able to bear the sight of my screen enough to work at a fairly steady pace. For Mr. Chang's last Latin II Honors class of the year, he had prepared a game to encourage students to learn the sequence of events leading to the founding of Rome through art depicting the same. Students were given 16 pieces of artwork, and instructions to order the works in chronological order according to the narratives they have been reading on Rome...

I went to bed last night determined to go to work today, but when I woke up this morning and didn't have the strength to lift my toothbrush to my mouth, I didn't think I would be of much use to Latin students. I literally collapsed back to bed and got up briefly at one point only to meditate. One great thing about being sick is how much easier it becomes to just focus on one's body. My reading in The Power of Now today was about inner body connectedness as a path to enlightenment, and posited that focusing on what one is feeling at any given time takes some strength away from the judgmental mind-chatter that tends to make us unhappy. I experienced sickness' role in this when, at my meditation retreat , I fell sick on Day 4 and felt much more focused, because the days became more of a struggle to get by rather than a time to ponder everything. Meditation led to another lengthy nap from which I awoke to help Kenneson find a summer job. Know anyone looking for ...

Today was just uncomfortable. This was my view for most of the day, as I lay on my side trying to "sleep off" this nasty cold. We stepped out briefly and I dragged my feet around the mall looking for shoes for Priya to wear to the 8th grade formal. We found the perfect glass slippers at last, and Cinderella and her sicksister returned home for more rest. The highlight of my evening has been filling out some atrociously large forms. But it will be worth it for the joy of national Latin Convention! I need my sickie sleep. Good night!

I spent all day restin' (readin', meditatin', nappin') in anticipation of tonight's party, celebrating JoJo's graduation from medical school. Priya and I "finicked" over our appearances before we frolicked around the garden. People partied by the peaceful pool. Uncle posed while procuring plenty of pictures. Priya and her pal played with a pooch. Jovially, we joined the joyful Jojo in jubilation! The evening was a wonderfully warm one for all. Congratulations, Joey!